Effects of a Lifestyle Intervention in Young Women with GDM and Subsequent Diabetes

The purpose of this study was to examine whether a 9-month intensive lifestyle intervention could lead to weight loss and improve cardiovascular risk factors among young women with both gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and newly diagnosed diabetes. A total of 83 young women, who had GDM and were subsequently diagnosed as type 2 diabetes at an average of 2.6 years after delivery, participated in a 9-month intensive lifestyle intervention and a follow-up survey at 6-9 years postintervention. After the 9-month intervention, these women had a weight loss of 2.90 kg (-4.02% of initial weight), decreased waist circumference (-3.12 cm), body fat (-1.75%), diastolic blood pressure (-3.49 mmHg), fasting glucose (-0.98 mmol/L) and HbA1c (-0.72%). During the 6-9 years postintervention period, they still had lower weight (-3.71 kg; -4.62% of initial weight), decreased waist circumference (-4.56 cm) and body fat (-2.10%), but showed a slight increase in HbA1c (0.22%). The prevalence of using glucose-lowering agents increased from 2.4% at baseline to 34.6% after the 9-month lifestyle intervention, and to 48.4% at 6-9 years postintervention. A 9-month intensive lifestyle intervention can produce beneficial effects on body weight, HbA1c and other cardiovascular risk factors among young women with previous GDM who subsequently developed new diabetes.

Automated summary

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 9-month intensive lifestyle intervention on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors in young women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and newly diagnosed diabetes. The results showed that the intervention led to significant weight loss, decreased waist circumference, body fat, diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and HbA1c. However, there was a slight increase in HbA1c during the post-intervention period, along with an increased use of glucose-lowering agents.